Automated Home

OpenTRV project leader Damon Hart-Davis started in electronics when his dad got him interested early on in life. He has dabbled in computing in finance and with start-ups and an MSc, and is now spending a lot of time on energy efficiency to help reduce the effects of climate change.  We asked Damon to introduce the OpenTRV [...]

This morning the ZigBee Alliance have announced GreenPower, a new optional feature of the ZigBee PRO standard.  The new technology will allow wireless products, including switches and dimmers, to now be powered by energy harvesting devices rather than use traditional battery or mains power. SAN RAMON, Calif. – Dec. 19, 2012 – The ZigBee® Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless [...]

We recently discovered another GSM controlled switch for remote control of your central heating.  This is one of the most affordable units we’ve come across yet so we contacted the company and had them install a unit for us.  Here’s how it works… . The Hardware – The unit itself is a GSM module called [...]

Home automation has acquired a more legitimate mantel in recent years, helping lose its reputation as merely promoting a couch potato lifestyle. Tasked with helping us all monitor, measure and change our energy usage, manufacturers like Z-Wave have been quick to see the potential of the green market for their smart home products. Here’s the [...]

More ‘Z-Wave Helps Save the World’ type stuff today with the new QEES SmartGate and Open Software Platform.  The hardware and software pair, in conjunction with metering devices, enable home owners to monitor and control their energy usage.  The SmartGate is described as an “All-in-one-Gateway’ that replaces your wireless router and adds a telephone gateway, [...]

A new ‘Living by Danfoss’ series of wireless, Z-Wave, smart home products includes this radiator thermostat.  With claimed energy savings of up to 23% the system allows you to control the all the radiators around your home from a central display and control unit. “Copenhagen – Z-Wave Alliance member Danfoss, manufacturer of refrigeration and heating [...]

Here’s some more eco friendly home automation designed to give you that warm fuzzy, ‘saving the planet’ feeling.  The Eco Sensor Lamp is a compact florescent bulb with the usual long life and low energy features married to a PIR sensor and timer. While it may be a little dumb in the grand scheme of [...]

AlertMe – the innovative UK based smart home security system based on Zigbee technology – is taking another step forward with the details of v2.0 of their software.  Read on for the summary and link to the demo system. “Our next release is on its way, and will be jam-packed full of exciting new features, [...]

Seluxit, a Danish company specialising in intelligent energy saving devices, has just launched the ViaSens home controller. The device is based on the Z-Wave standard and provides users with an overview of the status of all devices within their home control network. The ViaSens Home Controller connects to a PC via USB and the free [...]

Back in January we reported on the new Bye Bye Standby units form Domia. Now Martyn Henderson has reviewed the units that are designed to save the earth. Essentially, it’s a big stick-up (or screw-up) switch, that when you press the ‘green’ bit, it turns off all the bye bye standby mains switch units (or [...]